All Forum Posts by: Poem Turner

@Eric Barnett you're on the right track! It's not quite as much about anonymity as isolating each property and account to limit your liability in the event of a lawsuit. Ideally, you want each property to appear (at least legally) as an isolated entity, or as you suggested a trust. An additional protection is to have one public facing LLC (that receives rents) and a private unshared LLC (basically a shell that the public LLC pays out to, and then in turn the private LLC pays out to the individual). @Scott Smith offers guidance in drafting these and is an excellent resource right here in Austin.

Good luck!

@Zach Talke that's fantastic that you're already thinking ahead! @Account Closed Your weather comments make me chuckle. I have friends who have fled Boston, friends who are trying to flee Boston and friends who swear they'll never visit Boston between Oct and May. On the other hand, most folks in Austin try to escape town at least for a bit during July-Sept :-)

@Keith Berton It depends on what your particular goals are. If you want cash flow of a few hundred dollars a month, yes those can be found. If you're looking to meet the 1% rule, that's harder to find in and around Austin. It exists (on paper) in San Antonio and some portions of Killeen/Fort Hood, but the clientele and tenant turnover will probably not make it worthwhile. 

Like @Peter M. said, list price is an asking price. Once it's sat for a while, or all the offers are in the same ballpark, sellers usually come around. Being able to find off-market or pre-listing deals through an agent or property manager are definitely good ways to find some better deals. 

Rentometer isn't a bad place to start, but it hardly gives you the best idea of what the rent should be. There are so many pockets of neighborhoods, different finish outs in each neighborhood, proximity to schools, etc, you really need to look at the specific houses that would be your rental competition, not just a blanket area search. Renters won't be willing to pay the same for a run-down 2008 build with a renovated 1980s house, and that site just can't capture those nuances. Additionally, if you rent off MLS through Craigslist, etc, you will always get a higher rent rate.

Best of luck! Let me know if I can help you with a specific property.

Contact @Andrea Collatz

Thanks @Jerel Ehlert, that's exactly what I was thinking of but didn't have a chance to look it up.

@Davis Bell Good luck! Sounds like you're off to a great STR start!

@Michael Feaga Hope you can make the next one! 

Oh, friend, I feel for you! Definitely have a chat with his broker and TREC. The only thing worse than a misinformed agent is a man-splaining misinformed agent! Good luck!

@Eliza Sprague It really will be! Look forward to seeing you there! Don't forget some chairs! We'll have a few extra just in case.

@Scott Nidell The investor group will meet each month, but this is the only one we're planning to do at Bill's flip house. Feel free to contact him through Meetup and see if you could get together another time.

Safe travels!

@Ahmed Mirza Yes! Bill is an incredible person to know and learn from! I'm really excited about this opportunity. Hope to see you at another meeting! Safe travels.